Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands officially opens the FIP Centennial Congress

Amsterdam, October 4th - Today, Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was on hand at the FIP Centennial Opening Ceremony to release the FIP Centennial Declaration and officially open the event. FIP is welcoming over 5000 participants to Amsterdam, the Netherlands for its Centennial celebration and coinciding Roundtables and Ministers Summit.

Yesterday, FIP took its place at the table amongst Ministers of Health at the Summit on Increasing Responsible Use of Medicines - setting policies for better and cost-effective healthcare. The Federation urged pharmacists to bring forth proposals and take action in increasing the role of pharmacists in healthcare delivery. Such measures could contribute to decreasing healthcare costs by billions, as outlined in a recently released report from the IMS Institute. FIP President Michel Buchmann also encouraged pharmacists and physicians to work together and utilise both professions to their fullest potential. Such collaboration is an imperative step in the goal of increasing responsible use of medicines and realising optimal benefits for patients.

Today's opening ceremony also welcomed comments from Jan Smits, President of the KNMP and Centennial Host Committee and honored several award winners: